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Nine Australians seriously injured in the Bali blasts will be
transferred from Darwin to Newcastle tomorrow to be close to their
friends and family.

Northern Territory chief health officer Tarun Weeramanthri said
the patients, including two still on the critical list, would be
transported directly to John Hunter hospital in Newcastle
tomorrow.

"All nine patients from Newcastle have been assessed by our
clinical staff and we have assessed them as being suitable for
transfer back to Newcastle tomorrow," he said.

"The Australian Defence Force will transport all of the patients
in one group on a Hercules tomorrow morning.

"It's really important for patients to feel close to their
family and friends."

Dr Weeramanthri said all nine had undergone surgery in Royal
Darwin hospital and several would undergo further surgery
today.

Earlier, five people, including three Australians, remained in
critical conditions in Royal Darwin Hospital.

A hospital spokeswoman said a total of 12 patients evacuated
from Bali remained in care with bomb blast injuries from Saturday's
attacks.

One man, believed to be Newcastle resident Anthony Purkiss, was
last night transferred from Darwin to Sydney with a serious eye
injury.

A spokeswoman for Sydney's Prince of Wales Hospital said a man
was in intensive care with chest and eye injuries. She did not name
him.

The other two critically injured patients being treated in
Darwin are a Japanese man, and an Indonesian national.

Five other Australians remain in critical conditions in
Singapore.

Many of the victims suffered severe organ damage from shrapnel
bombs which tore through three packed restaurants at Bali's popular
tourist spots of Kuta and Jimbaran Bay.

Dr Weeramanthri has said many of the seriously injured sustained
deep wounds from pieces of shrapnel as big as marbles.

About 23 patients - 12 serious or critical - were originally
taken to Royal Darwin Hospital, with 10 being treated and
discharged by late yesterday.

Several Australians who lost family members in the Bali blast
remain critically ill in a Singapore hospital, but their conditions
have stabilised.

Michelle Warren's brother Terry Fitzgerald was medically
evacuated from Denpasar to Singapore on Sunday night in a critical
condition.

Mr Fitzgerald's 16-year-old son Brendan was killed in the blast
that ripped through the Kuta restaurant where they had been
eating.

His daughter Jessica, 13, suffered burns and shrapnel wounds in
the blast and was also transferred to Singapore.

The children's mother, Lisa Fitzgerald, who was at home in
Busselton, 230 kilometres south of Perth, when the bombings took
place, rushed to Singapore yesterday, along with Mr Fitzgerald's
parents Trevor and Win.

Mrs Warren today said she had spoken with her parents overnight,
and the news was positive.

"Terry is in a stable condition but he is still critical," Mrs
Warren said.
"Jessica is much the same - stable."

More details would be made public tomorrow, Mrs Warren said, but
she said she was comforted by the update from Singapore.

"That was a feeling of relief," she said.

Bruce Williamson, 50, of Newcastle, is also undergoing treatment
in Singapore. Mr Williamson's wife Jennifer died in the blast,
suffering shrapnel-related injuries.

Mr Williamson underwent surgery yesterday to remove shrapnel
from his eye and nose, his son Adam said this morning outside the
Singapore General Hospital. Doctors were hopeful that his eyesight
could be saved.

Mr Williamson had been able to speak with family members and
"knows what happened", Adam said.

His condition was stable, but it would be seven to 10 days
before his father could be moved, Adam said. The next 24 hours of
his recovery would be crucial.

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